Medical, surgical and other gloves, made of a rubber latex, are typically made so that these rubber articles tightly conform to the human hand. Because of this tight fit, such gloves are typically lubricated on the skin-contacting inner surface in order to facilitate donning of the gloves. The standard lubricant utilized for this purpose is dusting powder, e.g., cross-linked corn starch.
Various methods have been proposed to provide slip finishes on rubber articles, thus seeking to avoid the use of powdered internal surface lubricants. For example, the surface of a rubber glove can be halogenated with bromine or chlorine to make it slippery. This treatment, however, has certain disadvantages well-known in the art and typically does not produce a glove that is easier to don than a glove internally coated with dusting powder. One prior art glove provides a slip finish comprising a rubber latex blended with a resin latex. This approach, while lowering the coefficient of friction of the rubber glove, does not significantly improve donnability. Yet another prior art glove is made with granular material deposited on the inner, skin-contacting surface of a single-layer vinyl or silicone glove in order to reduce the frictional contact between the glove layer and the skin of the wearer. Use of this glove, however, results in the granular material being abraded from the inner glove surface thus generating loose particulate matter.
One example of the prior art is a therapeutic glove for dry hands. The glove comprises two layers of mesh or scrim, an upper palm panel or layer and a lower back of the hand or layer. The scrim is heat fused at the borders of all five fingers and the mesh layers have a coating of dried polyvinyl alcohol. As the glove is worn and subsequently moistened, most or all of the polyvinyl alcohol coating dissolves, leaving a mixture of dissolved polyvinyl alcohol and water, held captive in the mesh in a somewhat slurry or slush form. In addition, as the outermost part of the slurry begins to dry by normal evaporation, the inner parts of the slurry disposed between the outer part of the glove and the skin continue to moisturize the skin. One significant disadvantage of this type of prior art is the lack of dexterity in the hands and fingers for use in fine motor function. Another disadvantage is the use of polyvinyl alcohol attached to the interior of the glove. The hand must first be wetted or moistened for the polyvinyl alcohol to dissolve. In addition, the exterior of the glove must be moistened for continued dissolution of the polyvinyl alcohol.
It is therefore desirable to have a glove with moisturizing properties, which is easily donnable on both dry and damp hands, made by a process that does not result in loose particulate matter on the inside of the gloves.
Accordingly, there is a need to have a glove that provides moisturizer to the skin yet provides the user the ability to maintain dexterity in the hands and fingers for fine motor function.
It is also advantageous to have a glove that does not rely on dusting powders and or on an internal surface lubricant for donnability, but instead applies a surface lubricant in a new and improved way.
It is further advantageous to have a glove that does not require moisture or wetting of the hand or interior of the glove prior to donning of the glove.